Breach Candy locals say no to 'nuisance' cops

MUMBAI: In yet another embarrassment to men in khaki, residents of some of the buildings near US consulate in posh Breach Candy area have turned down the police's request to grant them access to the structures' terraces to maintain 24X7 vigil on the diplomatic premises. One of the structures initially allowed the cops to stand guard but later showed them the door due to their 'filthy' habits.
The four buildings closest to the consulate are Vaibhav, Prabhat, Suraj Millennium Towers and Peacock Palace. While Vaibhav and Prabhat are on either side of the consulate, Suraj Millennium Towers and Peacock Palace are located just across the road. Mohan Lalvani, secretary of Peacock Palace Society, told TOI, "We found the cops request to be impractical and hence rejected it.'' While Lalvani refused to elaborate further, other residents, requesting anonymity, said that the plan was rejected because there was every chance that the police might have misused the premises. "Girls from our building go up to the terrace. We weren't sure if our girls would have been safe with cops around," said a resident. "Also, the personnel would have used the terrace as a toilet.''
Residents of Peacock Palace, who had initially allowed the cops to position themselves atop their building, had conducted a surprise check and were shocked to find the personnel sleeping. "To make things worse, the policemen didn't use the toilet downstairs. A few days later, our terrace was filthy and stinking. We consulted the residents, all of whom unanimously agreed to not allow the cops into the building," said a member of the residents' committee.
"We have no intention of reviewing this decision,'' the member added.
Residents of Vaibhav, where two cops are permanently placed on the terrace 24X7, have no complaints against men in khaki. "But we keep a watch on them,'' said a resident of the building, adding, "We could not say no because our building is right next to the consulate.''
Though residents of other apartments in the area have also opposed the presence of cops on their terraces, those staying at Suraj Millennium Towers, deliberating the pros and cons of the issue, have given go-ahead to the police to use their structure for surveillance. "So far, no cop has been placed on duty here,'' a building official said.
Joint CP (law and order) Rajnish Seth said, "It is for the buildings' residents to decide whether or not to accept our request. We are not forcing anything on them.'' Asked if the US consulate had asked for such a security measure, Seth said, "The consulate has made no such request. It was our idea.''
To a question whether the consulate security guards could exercise their authority on the pavement across Lincoln House by asking pedestrians to move away, a surprised Seth said: `This is a free country and pedestrians can stand anywhere on the pavement. The jurisdiction of consulate security staff definitely does not extend to the pavement opposite the consulate. Only our police have powers over that stretch,'' he emphasised.